Bonnaroo: The Low Down

Bonnaroo is a four day music and art festival that takes place in Manchester, Tennessee each June. This festival began in 2002 and is dedicated to expression through music, art, and personality.

The Place:
Bonnaroo takes place on a farm in Manchester and is separated into two areas: the camp grounds and the enclosed area for the stages, art and product tents, and food and beverages.

You read right, I did say campgrounds. As it is a four day festival and shows run from 11 a.m. to 3 or 4 a.m., you may not have much time to sleep, but even the few hours of rest you do get, you need a place to crash. Camp sites range on another broad spectrum; from small two person tents for three people (my friends and I were definitely not the most prepared) to collaborations of five or six giant tents linked together by tapestries and sheets and even RVs or elaborately painted buses (complete with tables, couches, and hammocks!).

Aerial View of Bonnaroo Living Situation

You may be thinking - 'that must be some close living quarters' - and you would be correct. Being as it is, around 80,000 people attend the festival each year, but at Bonnaroo, it is all about the music and everyone carries a good attitude.  You'll come to love your neighbors and be thankful that they are there to supply you with anything you might have forgotten or tips about bands you had never heard of and how to navigate around the stages.

Which Stage - Bonnaroo '07

As if navigating around a festival isn't troublesome already, the Bonnaroo stage names do anything but help.

Main Stages:  What Stage and Which Stage

Tents:  This Tent, That Tent, The Other Tent

Confused yet?  Try being there, try being under the influence (of the music of course), and try telling your friend where you are.  Last year, while attempting to direct my friend to That Tent for the She & Him performance, the conversation got confusing as the calls were dropped and the words 'what' and 'which' were thrown around.  Instead of seeing Zooey Deschanel, one of her girl crushes, she ended up at a completely different stage.

The nice thing is that if you do end up at the wrong tent or stage, you may discover a new artist and if you do decide to ask for directions, the people are all approachable and willing to help you find your way (though you may want to be cautious on who you ask - as some people are more heavily under the influence than others).

The People:
Bonnaroo in itself is a sustainable festival and highly promotes environmentalism.  As a result, it is home to 'crunchy granola heads' - as my friend and fellow 'Rooer' would call them. The weirder more eccentric you are, the dirtier you are willing to get, and the friendlier you are - the more apt you are to enjoy these four days.  People of all ages attend the festival (you are now thinking a four day festival full of music, drugs, and dirty people may not be the place for a one-year-old, but, well - I've seen it done).

It is normal to dress up and prance around at Bonnaroo

Alright, now to the most important, I know you have been patiently waiting...

The Music Scene:
Though, beginning with a focus on jam-bands, Bonnaroo has come to have a stage for all types of music, ranging from Lil Wayne to Buffalo Springfield to Norah Jones to the Arcade Fire to Jay Z to Tom Petty to Bassnectar. With such a diversified set list, Bonnaroo has a place for anyone. And it is not just the names that are unbelievable - the performances are outstanding.  With non-stop shows all day and night, you can get your fix of any music you are in the mood for. Whether it is sitting in the coveted shade (the heat in Tennessee is brutal if you are not used to it like I wasn't) and passively listening to something soothing, raging to the different DJs, or anything in between - you will find it at Bonnaroo and the performance will blow you away.

Each year, the lineup is highly anticipated. I myself cannot deny checking the Bonnaroo website daily (since the day I returned from TN in 2010) to see who would be playing the following year. I have to say honestly that I came across this years lineup at the start of my Writing in Electronic Environment's class on Tuesday, February 15. (Now would be a good time to apologize to my professor for being slightly distracted as my head filled with band name after band name in the beginning of class-until I recognized how flustered I must have looked with my head so close to the computer screen and had to pry myself from the Bonnaroo website.)

By now, I expect to see all of you there. So buy your tickets when they go on sale this Saturday, February 19.